


Charging on Forward with Nothing to Gain

by Corpus_Callosum



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: FireRed & LeafGreen | Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen Versions
Genre: Existentialism, Gen, Kanto-chihou | Kanto, Pokemon Battle, Pokemon League, The Elite Four (Pokemon), The Kanto League, Video Game Mechanics, the indigo plateau
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21801826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corpus_Callosum/pseuds/Corpus_Callosum
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Charging on Forward with Nothing to Gain

She's become more relentless, she thinks.

"Welcome, challenger. I, Lorelei of the Elite Four, have returned! You know how it goes. No one can best me when it comes to Ice type Pokémon. Freezing moves are powerful. Your Pokemon will be at my mercy when they are frozen solid." The red haired woman laughs before continuing, a smirk on her face. "Are you ready?"

The faintest hint of a smile crosses Leah's face. She is.

Dewgong being the first Pokemon Lorelei sends out comes as no surprise. She's prepared, sending out her Snorlax in response.

"Go, Fatso!" Sometimes she wonders if that name bothers him; ten year olds don't exactly have the best forethought.

"Double Team!" Dewgong divides into copies, surrounds her Snorlax, and while trying to figure which one is real, she calls the wrong move.

"Hyper Bea- No, I meant-" The command is out of her mouth before she can stop it, and turns out in her benefit; the damage Dewgong manages with Surf in the recharge time isn't nearly enough to take her first Pokemon out.

_"Thunder!"_ rings out across the space, quickly drowned out by the enormous noise of the attack itself. Ears ringing, Leah smiles as she sees Dewgong relent.

"You've taken out my first, I give you credit for that much," Lorelei acknowledges, removing her hands from her ears. "But you will not get past my Cloyster." Leah sees the older woman sigh a little as she asks, "Will you change Pokemon?"

A quick shake of her head, and the spiky-shelled clam explodes out of its Pokéball.

"Rain Dance!" Out of nowhere, dark clouds swirl the air above the battling space, billowing strangely with the ceiling above them. Leah smirks faintly, commanding her Snorlax in no higher than a murmur.

"Thunder." The attack is immediate, strengthened by the static and polarization in the air, and Cloyster is almost completely wiped. The Elite huffs almost imperceptably, using a Full Restore on her Cloyster. It's not much use. The next strike takes it out.

"Yes!" The young trainer cheers, running over to her Pokemon and hugging him as well as she can, though the size difference makes it rather difficult. Fatso chuffs appreciatively, huffing lightly.

"Piloswine." Leah looks across the battle floor at her opponent. "Switch or Set?"

"I'm switching," she answers quietly, taking out another Pokéball from her Bag's side pocket. "Fatso, return." The massive creature is digitized, and she stares at the Ball for a moment. The device gives not even the faintest hint of all the heft held inside. Her ears twitch lightly at the sound of a throat clearing, and she snaps her head up quickly.

"If you'd be so kind." Leah knows Lorelei cannot make her leave, hurry up, decide on her behaviors, or really do anything were she to start stalling as she'd likely appeared to be. All the same, she stares at the challenger with annoyance clear in her expression.

"Do forgive me," the smaller apologizes, expanding her second Pokéball and throwing it. "Jessica, you're up!"

A rush of heat billows across the room, melting some of the ice collected on the pillars, floor, and walls, and Leah shields her face momentarily. The temperature dwindles to a more amiable warmth, and she moves her arm to look up at the Rapidash in front of her. She doesn't look happy, tossing her head at the drops of rain making her mane and tail hiss. The trainer momentarily thinks of getting out an umbrella or something to cover her, but the thought passes quickly. Her Pokemon is fine, and she's never had an umbrella on this journey, anyway. Never needed one. The weather's always been rather mild, slightly warmer at the beaches and cooler in the mountains. All the same.

_'Don't think of that.'_

"Fire Blast!" Leah backs away the instant she calls the attack, covering her face with her arms to block the residual heat from the massive plume of flame her Pokemon breathes out. When she raises her head, her arm hairs have been singed off, but that's not what concerns her. The thing that makes her heart start pounding in her chest is Lorelei's silent movement to a carefully secured hanging chair. Why does she keep forgetting about this?

"Oh, no..."

"Earthquake!"

The ground starts to tremble beneath them. Leah barely has enough time to run and cling to a metal frame nearby before the floor is wracked with massive tremors that make the lights swing wildly. By the time the quake is over, a quarter of the bulbs have shattered, and Jessica is lying in a heap on the cracked floor. Leah returns her Pokemon and sends out Fatso again wordlessly, trying too hard not to throw up to speak. She slides down onto the floor and takes a minute to settle herself before continuing the battle.

"Hyper Beam," she calls, weaker than she'd like. Still, Piloswine is faster, and she gets the full force of the Earthquake now that she's not holding a support. Fatso is down and out for the count. His Ball returns him automatically, and she barely has the energy to tap the button of another Ball.

A sharp cry pierces the air as her Fearow takes flight, circling low and eyeing the clouds cautiously. He wheels over her, waiting for instruction patiently. After a few minutes, she sits up and tries to gauge the Speed differences.

"Mirror Move," she decides after a moment. Her Pokemon's Speed is too high, though, and the move fails.

"Blizzard."

Silently, he descends in front of his trainer, spreading his wings to shield her from the blast of frigid air. She wants to stop him, but she can't protect him in any case. She's miscalculated, and he has to pay the price.

"I'm sorry."

His HP drops to zero, and she picks up her next Pokéball. It soars through the air after a moment of thought, a Venusaur bursting out of it at her call.

"JacksonLee, I choose you!" Leah pushes herself to her feet and clears her throat, pounding her chest lightly. Her stomach is not agreeing with those aftershocks. "Razor Leaf, go!"

With a noise of assent, he sends a barrage of leaves flying at the Piloswine. He's knocked out faster than Leah had hoped, and she laughs in relief.

"Lapras is next." Lorelei's voice has lost all hints of mischief and friendliness. "Shift or set?"

"Set."

Lapras announces his arrival with a long tone that makes Leah wince and cover her ears. Lorelei, she notices, does nothing. Perhaps she's used to it?

"Razor Leaf, quick!" The attack lands, but it isn't strong enough to do much good before an Ice Beam drops him too low to take another attack. The Leech Seed she calls for misses. 'It wouldn't be much good to JacksonLee now, anyway,' she muses forlornly, seeing her starter succumb to another Ice Beam.

"Lucky, you're next!"

Her Dragonair takes one look around himself, stares at her blankly, and turns around to face his opponent, annoyance clear in the rigid way he holds his long, serpentine body.

"Guess you're angry..." Leah laughs a little nervously. "Won't be here long, though... Outrage!"

The attack is, indeed, one of outrage, and Leah can't help but feel some of it is directed at her. As he takes the Blizzard full on, she wonders if he'll still be angry at her later. Likely not. Not one of her Pokemon has run away or hurt her, though some of them admittedly might want to at times. She returns him to his Ball, shaking her head a bit. Last one up next.

"Bones, I need you!"

The Marowak is no more pleased to be out than Lucky was. She doesn't really blame him; she only caught him at Level 46 in Victory Road, and he's Level 57 now. Not quite enough time to get used to her as well as some of her others, and he can tell what she's going to do.

"Sorry..." She uses her turn to Revive Fatso.

The glare Bones gives her could not be more clear than if he had said, "Sorry doesn't cut it."

Leah runs back to the metal frame when Lorelei calls out her next attack, the massive wave from Surf cresting above her Pokemon and covering the field in water. She watches it drain from atop the iron bars, returning the washed out Marowak to his Ball.

"Do it, Fatso!" He makes a mildly disgruntled noise at being called out to battle again but doesn't argue. Another Surf sweeps through the arena, but the sturdy Pokemon doesn't take much damage from it. "Nice job! Thunder!" Clouds roll in again briefly, and a branch of lightning strikes the Lapras. It's not enough to take him out, but enough for her to give Fatso a Hyper Potion without worrying too much about another attack. True to her expectations, Lorelei uses a Full Restore on Lapras.

"I suppose it's down to two, then," Lorelei calls across the room, glancing at Leah briefly. "It won't be long."

"Agreed." A smile crosses the younger's face. "I'm ending it. Thunder!"

A relentless exchange of Thunder and Surf ensues, Lapras at one point becoming paralyzed and immediately curing himself with a Cheri Berry. Still, it's only three full turns before Lapras drops, defeated.

"Jynx."

"Jynx? Are you serious?" Leah swears none too quietly, making her Snorlax give her a strange look. "Don't you look at me crazy, I forgot she had that one!" She huffs, restoring Fatso with another Hyper Potion.

"Lovely Kiss!"

It's times like these she really wishes she still had Snore or Sleeptalk. She takes the next turn to Revive Jessica, the following to wake Fatso up with the Pokéflute. By the time he's back up to fighting, he can only get in one Thunder before a final Psychic takes him out.

"Alright, let's go, Jessica!" The flaming unicorn tosses her head proudly, rearing back on two hooves and pawing the air. Her spirit excites her trainer, who feels herself covered in goosebumps at the prospect of a very close victory!

"Fire Blast!" Flames go everywhere, the heat melting some of the ice in the room and straightening Leah's hair a bit. But it's not enough; Jynx is still standing, and-

"Oh, no."

"Psychic."

"Please, no."

The attack is nearly silent, a faint ringing that Leah likely won't be able to hear as an adult the only perceptible signal anything is happening. Her Rapidash, on the other hand, lets out a pained whinny at an invisible force doing her harm somehow; Leah can't tell what it does. All the same, Jessica drops to the ground, completely drained.

"That's your last Pokémon, young lady." Leah doesn't hear the words as she falls to her knees.

_"The Challenger is out of usable Pokémon!"_ echoes throughout the huge room, played on hidden speakers somewhere.

"I..." Leah mechanically returns Jessica to her Ball.

"That means you've lost," Lorelei stands up from her swinging chair, lightly strokes her Jynx's light hair, and praises her for winning.

"Lost..." The young trainer reaches into her Bag and produces a handful of shining coins, placing them carefully on the ground in front of her. A slight haze comes into her field of view as she looks up, stares across the arena, studies the Elite with blank eyes.

'There is a reason they call them the "Elite Four". They are stronger, ever stronger. They've risen from their defeat to match my own power. And I... I have...'

"Failed..." It's the last thing to pass Leah's lips before her eyes roll back into her head and she collapses into a faint.

-+-+-

When she comes back to herself, she's standing at the counter of a Pokémon Center. The nurse across from her is looking at her cautiously, as if expecting her to either keel over or pull out a knife at any time.

"First, you should restore your Pokémon to full health." She loads the Pokéballs into the machine and runs it, curing Leah's party of their ills in a matter of seconds. The nurse returns them to her, watching the trainer put them back in her Bag quickly as she speaks. "Your Pokémon have been healed to perfect health." The medical professional bows briefly, gives her a smile that unsettle Leah because she can't tell if it's real or not. "We hope you excel!"

The tone is genuine enough, and Leah manages a hesitant smile in response. Something in her world seems to untense, and she lets out a breath, barely able to keep herself up long enough to reach a nearby table. A hand reaches into her Bag, checking her Pokéballs and counting them quickly in reflex. She can feel that they're all in there, all healthy, and she releases a huge sigh that turns into something of a breathless laugh at the end.

_'Why do I keep doing this?'_

Her head drops onto the table. 'I'm already Champion, there's nothing for me to gain by battling them again now that they're stronger...' She closes her eyes breifly, taking in a shuddering breath. Her hand grabs the minimized Pokéballs, holding them under the glass tabletop. Leah's eyes flicker open to stare down at them. Six powerful creatures, curled up in these tiny containers. Or downloaded. She doesn't like thinking on it too long, it makes her head hurt. All the same, her Pokémon are there for her. They're eternally loyal through thick and thin, constantly giving their all for her; just for her with all her goals and desires. Is this really what they want? She wants to know, so badly, what they really want. But communication is so hard, such a challenge, and she sees the way they look at her. Some with affection and respect, a great many with adoration. A few, contempt. She'll never know what they truly want because in this world, in this life she lives with them, they are no longer their own. Leah is their lord and master now, and every command they must obey once she's proven she has the power. Her dreams are their goals.

"But I've reached all my dreams." The realization comes as no louder than a murmur as she stares through the glass table, now quickly becoming dotted with drops of water. 'Tears? Why am I crying?'

She knows very well why, though. Most would think it was the loss to Lorelei that caused it. But the true reason is so far from that, the distance between the Moon and the Sun.

'No, not why am I crying.' The Champion shakes her head, sniffling lightly and sweeping the wrist of her free hand over her eyes.

'What am I looking for?'


End file.
